iPad, Apple Silicon, and MacBook Air

by Rian

I’ve had few iPads of my own. I’d like to believe each was better than the last. Front facing camera and mic helped for video chats. Touch ID and Face ID were nice additions, when Macs didn’t offer biometrics. Retina display also landed on iPad lines first, and iOS apps were first to adapt them in masses. With keyboard and trackpad attached to the case, it made a great secondary computer sitting on the side of the desk. USB-C ports on the case and the device itself was another added benefit. And best of all, the battery lasted the whole day without ever whirling like Macs running Adobe Flash. Then it struck me: isn’t Apple Silicon Macs are performing as good as iPads?

Apple Silicon was otherworldly at launch. This isn’t a praise; at first, I thought Apple’s attempt to cut Intel off rather silly. We’ve already seen what became of the last PPC, and despite how capable mobile processors have become, another migration sounded like an open invitation for low performance and power hungry chips. I was rather surprised how well-received Apple Silicon was, and it became ‘otherworldly’ in different manner.

With the launch of Apple Silicon Macs, the line between a portable laptop and a tablet is significantly more blurred. iPad, when compared to MacBook Air, had excelled on portability, battery efficiency, and optimization with iPadOS apps. But with the keyboard and trackpad, not only iPad weighs more, it is overall less versatile as the iPadOS is sitting in the limbo between iOS and macOS behemoths. Touchscreen display and an Apple Pencil are unique to iPad, but is it enough to make the cut?

I sold my 2018 iPad Pro soon as I came to terms with the fact that I don’t use touchscreen —I was using trackpad even with iPads. I’ve used it for roughly 5-6 years, so no complaints there. But I have to ask again for myself, who is iPad for? For those few who would want beautiful display with touchscreen? Will macOS on iPad truly beef up iPads in a way that stands out next to MacBook Air? I remember when I first bought iPad, it offered the good common ground: all-day long battery, quite, and cool like mobile devices, but beefier, more productive tools and accessories like laptop environment. Smartphones and laptops are closing in every year, and maybe tablets will be the next MP3 players of the electronics department.